AGARTALA:
The state police sounded an alert after receiving intelligence inputs that United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I) may target an Inspector General of Police (IGP) or Director General of Police (DGP) level official.
Even as there was no name provided by the intelligence agencies, the information said that the attack will be on an official under whom several operations were conducted against the proscribed outfit.
Intelligence input stated that a meeting of “Colonel” Ganesh Lahon along with several cadres of ULFA-I and “Captain” Jaiwang Wangnaham of NSCN (YA), have planned to kill a senior police official.
The meeting, which was held in an undisclosed location in Nagaland’s Mon district in the third week of June, also decided to convey their proposal to elusive ULFA-I commander Paresh Baruah in this connection.
The needle of suspicion, however, invariably pointed at Jitmol Doley, deputy inspector general of police (DIGP), Northeastern Range with headquarters in Tinsukia, as he has been seen to be under the banned militant outfit’s radar since he has been working as superintendent of police in Nalbari district of lower Assam.
On July 10, a band of ULFA-I militants targeted a police team led by Doley at Pengeri, 50 km off Tinsukia town along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. There was a gunfight between the police and the militants. There were, however, no reports of any casualty.
Rupom Asom, a most wanted cadre of the outfit, was suspected of leading the group of about six militants to carry out subversive acts.
“Our operation against the rebel outfit will continue. We have inputs regarding the presence of ULFA-I militants in the Pengree area. We launched an operation against the outfit which resulted in a fierce gun battle,” said a senior official.
In the encounter, which took place near Da-Pathar at Kakopathar, the police informed that four other cadres Rupam, Uday Asom, Mriganka Asom and Rinku Asom also sustained bullet injuries.